The winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society is the organization’s largest annual gathering, bringing together the global astronomy community for four full days of seminars, workshops, presentations, plenaries, and exhibits highlighting the latest discoveries and advances in the field.
For Keck Observatory staff, the meeting is both an opportunity to share discoveries enabled by our twin 10-meter telescopes and to learn from colleagues across the community—an exchange that strengthens collaboration, sharpens ideas, and ultimately enables us to deliver the best possible science responsibly from Maunakea.
Applying Mutual Stewardship Models in Astronomy
Ahead of the formal conference, Keck staff participated in a three-day Mutual Stewardship Summit, a pre-conference workshop focused on community-based astronomy and shared responsibility. The gathering brought together operators working at the intersection of astronomy and community to exchange ideas, develop strategies, and receive feedback and support from others working in related spaces.
Hosted at Tohono Oʻodham Community College, the summit created space to reflect on purpose at a time of uncertainty around budgets, funding, and U.S. federal policy. Participants explored how aligning values with action can help guide resilient strategies that sustain both scientific discovery and the communities connected to it.
That focus on purpose and connection carried directly into the AAS winter meeting, which was held in Phoenix, Arizona, the ancestral lands of the O’odham people.
“We make it a priority to attend this meeting to share about Keck Observatory, our discoveries, and the importance of continuing astronomy from Maunakea,” said John O’Meara, Observatory Chief Scientist and Deputy Director, and a familiar face at AAS meetings.
The impact of Keck data within the observing community was evident throughout the conference, with numerous presentations, iPosters, and plenaries relying on observations made with the observatory’s twin 10-meter telescopes.
“We enable transformative science by providing access to advanced instrumentation and expert support from our staff,” O’Meara added. “We also respond rapidly to rare, time-sensitive cosmic events—advancing astronomy while being responsible stewards of the mountain and its resources.”
Our commitment to sustaining astronomy also extended beyond the conference sessions. During the week, O’Meara met with representatives from NASA and other agencies to discuss shared priorities, the evolving needs of the observing community, and the importance of continued investment in ground-based facilities that support discovery, training, and collaboration.
In that same spirit of connection, Keck staff shared aloha with members of the observing community by presenting ti leaf lei, handmade by by Infrastructure Technician James Chong and his ʻohana as a gesture of gratitude and respect, and a reminder of the people and place that make this science possible.
Keck scientific contributions continued to be featured throughout the week. Graduate student Wenjun Chang (University of California, Riverside), kicked off the conference by presenting her team’s findings on the hidden lives of the early universe’s Ultramassive Galaxies. On the final day, three out of four results presented during the AAS 247 Press Conference on High Redshifts and High Energies included Keck data:
- Vivian U, (Caltech/IPAC) – Discovery of the first galaxy-wide wobbling black hole jet in a disk galaxy
- Daniel Ivanov (University of Pittsburgh) – An Unlensed Barred Spiral Before Cosmic Noon
- Daniel Perley (Liverpool John Moores University) – An Ultra-Luminous Fast Transient Powered by Rapid Accretion of a Star Onto a Black Hole
Additional sessions included Keck “superstars” Bryce Bolin (Eureka Scientific), who presented on the volatile content of giant Oort cloud comet C/2014 UN271, and Chih-Chun Hsu, who presented on the bifurcated rotation of giant planets and brown dwarf companions.
“AAS provides a unique opportunity to present research to a broad audience across astronomy,” reflected Chih-Chun. The questions and feedback I receive help me think more deeply about the implications of my work, and that exchange—made possible through Keck data and support—continues to shape my discoveries.”
Keck observing alumni shared additional insight into impactful science through a number of compelling plenary talks. Adam Burgasser (UC San Diego) explored the Brown Dwarf–Milky Way Connection, highlighting how “failed stars” contribute to galactic archaeology, while Raja GuhaThakurta (UC Santa Cruz) inspired action through his work on equity-driven experiential learning programs in STEAM, based in part on Keck II + DEIMOS spectra and Shadow the Scientists sessions conducted on the Keck I and Keck II telescopes.
The meeting also celebrated the recipients of the 2025 AAS Awards & Prizes—many of whom are long-standing members of the Keck observing community—including:
- Raja GuhaThakurta is the recipient of the AAS Education Prize, for the breadth and innovation of his outreach, education, and mentoring work, including programs that reach a wide range of learners, both in his local community and worldwide. Projects such as “Shadow the Scientists” provide novel and beneficial ways for scientists, students, and members of the public to interact.
- Alice Shapley received the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics For landmark observational campaigns and creative techniques that redefined the forefront of the field of galaxy formation and evolution. Using large telescopes on the ground and in space, Shapley has transformed our view of the spectral energy distributions of galaxies from the ultraviolet through the optical, helping us to understand the complex physical interplay between energetic radiation, ionization of gas, atomic excitation, line emission, metallicity, and dust. Shapley’s work has provided a deeper understanding of the cycle of galactic outflows and infall, star formation histories, and fates of galaxies across the mass spectrum.
- Connie Rockosi received the Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical Instrumentation For her significant contributions to spectrographs and instruments at several ground-based observatories — including the Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrograph and Keck Cosmic Web Imager at Keck Observatory, the Shane Adaptive Optics Infrared Camera at Lick Observatory, the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey instrument for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument on the Mayall Telescope — and for her critical leadership roles on these impactful instrumentation projects over her career.
- and Kyle Kremmer, who was awarded the Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy For innovative theoretical work illuminating the dynamics of compact objects in dense stellar systems. A number of Kremer’s results have had a major impact across several subfields of astrophysics, including globular clusters, gravitational wave sources, and neutron stars.
View the complete list of fellows, grants, prizes and awards, visit Honors, Grants & Prizes | American Astronomical Society
We are already looking ahead to seeing our observing community at the AAS249 Winter meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah and continuing to share our discoveries with the world.
